F.B.I. Investigates Attempt to Hack the Trump Organization

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Donald Trump Jr., left, and his brother Eric Trump. They met with F.B.I. agents this month at the agency’s office in Lower Manhattan to discuss an attempt to break into the Trump Organization’s computers, people with knowledge of the matter said.CreditCreditJonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York office have been investigating an attempt by international hackers to break into computers at the Trump Organization, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

Early this month, at a meeting at the bureau’s offices in Lower Manhattan, some of the agents briefed President Trump’s two grown sons, Eric Trump and Donald J. Trump Jr., about the attempted intrusion, the people said. All spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

Mr. Trump’s sons began running the Trump Organization after their father became president.

A spokeswoman for the F.B.I. declined to comment on the investigation, which was first reported by ABC News, or to comment on the briefing.

Eric Trump confirmed in a telephone interview on Thursday evening that he had spoken with the F.B.I. about matters related to computer security, but declined to elaborate, other than to say there had been no successful intrusion into the company’s computer system.

“We’ve spoken to them about things totally unrelated to anything that’s going on or anything related to a campaign,” he said.

While one of the people said the hackers had conducted their attack from overseas, it was unclear in which nation it had originated, when it began, how it had been uncovered, and why it had failed.

Amanda Miller, a spokeswoman for the Trump organization, declined to answer questions about the attempted intrusion or the company’s approach to computer security. But she suggested in a statement that it was not the first time the company had been targeted by hackers.

“Like virtually every other company these days, we are routinely targeted by cyberterrorists whose only focus is to inflict harm on great American businesses,” the statement said. “To be clear, the Trump Organization was not hacked. While we will remain vigilant in fighting off any attempts to do so, we are confident in the steps we have taken to protect our businesses and safeguard our information.”

The disclosure that the president’s sons were briefed by the F.B.I. on the attempted intrusion in early May comes at an awkward time.

The bureau’s agents have been conducting an investigation into whether members of Mr. Trump’s campaign colluded with the Russian government’s effort to influence the presidential election.

There has been no indication, however, that the investigation into the attempted intrusion at the Trump Organization — or the briefing agents conducted for Eric Trump and Donald J. Trump Jr. — was in any way tied to that investigation.

After his election, President Trump said that he could continue to run his family business if he wanted but that he nonetheless would turn the Trump Organization over to his two grown sons.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A15 of the New York edition with the headline: Investigation Into Hacking At Trump’s Company. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe